Katie Johnson tips her hat for USC soccer

The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.

Katie Johnson (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2012) USC soccer sophomore: With her educated feet often leading the way, Johnson was instrumental in Flintridge Sacred Heart winning the area’s only CIF Southern Section Division I girls’ soccer title in 2011, and looked very much her old goal-scoring self on Sunday.

At USC’s McAlister Field, Johnson netted three goals in leading the Trojans to a romp over Loyola Marymount University.

“Nice to get a hat trick ... the day after your birthday,” Trojans Coach Ali Khosroshahin said on the program’s website. “We gave her a Powerade shower on Saturday, that was our present to her. This was her present to us.”

Johnson scored the first, third and fifth goals of the match, as USC built a 3-0 lead and then responded to a LMU goal with a Johnson header less than a minute later forge ahead, 4-1. All three of her goals came inside the first 19 minutes of play and two came off assists from former Sacred Heart teammate Kayla Mills.

USC, ranked No. 23 in the country, put together its highest goal total since 2010 in a single game, which was, consequently, the last season a Trojan tallied a hat trick before Johnson.

For her efforts, Johnson was named the USC Women’s Student-Athlete of the Week, sharing the honor with volleyball player Elise Ruddins.

Johnson has four goals on the season for the Trojans (4-2-1), who host Florida Atlantic on Friday.

Breeana Koemans (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2012) Northeastern soccer freshman: The 2012 All-Area Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year came all the way back from a broken foot that sidelined her for all of the 2012 college season, but has now, reportedly, been sidelined with a broken nose.

Returning as a redshirt freshman, Koemans made her NCAA debut back in Southern California on Aug. 23 against host UCLA, the fifth-ranked team in the nation. With family and former Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Frank Pace in attendance, Koemans also got her first NCAA start.

Unfortunately for Koemans and Northeastern, they fell against UCLA, 4-0, in their season opener.

Koemans has played in all seven games this season for the Huskies, though her debut was her only start.

Koemans, a multiple-time All-Area, All-Mission League and All-CIF standout who was also an All-American as a senior, collected her first collegiate point in the form of an assist, as she notched a helper on Aug. 30 in a 1-1 tie against Northwestern. The goal was the first of the year for Northeastern, which has struggled to a 0-5-2 record thus far.

Northeastern is scheduled to host Maine on Friday night.

Sierra Rhoads (Crescenta Valley, 2013) Vermont soccer freshman: Fresh off an All-Area first-team season, Rhoads has wasted little way in making a place for herself in the Vermont starting lineup, as she’s started in six of the team’s seven games.

She did not play in Wednesday’s double-overtime 3-2 loss to Sienna, but started on Sunday in a 3-0 loss to Fordham and two days prior in a 1-0 win against Quinnipiac. In Friday’s win over Quinnipiac, Rhoads tallied her first collegiate point, as she assisted a Haley Marks goal in the 39th minute.

Often splitting time as a defender and forward in her seasons at Crescenta Valley — which saw the Falcons win three Pacific League titles, while she was named Pacific League MVP as a junior and a two-time All-Area pick — Rhoads has started as a defender at Vermont.

Currently, the Catamounts are 2-5 with a Friday game against Fairleigh Dickinson.

Frances Boukidis (Crescenta Valley, 2010) Northern Illinois soccer senior: The Huskies travel to face Loyola of Chicago on Friday in a nonconference tilt on a 0-3-1 winless streak.

Their last win came Sept. 1 at home against Lewis on the strength of a game-winning overtime assist from Boukidis in the 107th minute for a 2-1 victory.

Thus far, Boukidis has played in all eight games for the Huskies (2-5-1) with three starts, a goal and an assist. The goal was an unassisted score in a season-opening 3-0 win Aug. 25 against Eastern Illinois.

Sabrina Hatzer (Crescenta Valley High, 2012) L.A. Valley water polo sophomore: Following a phenomenal freshman campaign for the Monarchs in which she garnered All-Western Conference and All-Southern California Regional honors after leading her team with 136 goals, 78 steals and 44 assists, Hatzer is right back at it.

Just two games into the season, Valley has proved to be a high-powered squad, having defeated Santa Ana and Miramar by identical 17-6 scores on Saturday in Valley’s mini-tournament to open the season.

Hatzer had a match-high seven goals to go with two assists and five steals against Miramar, while tallying five goals, an assist and two steals against Santa Ana.

Hatzer leads a squad brimming with area talent, as eight of the 13 players on the roster are from Pacific League high schools.

Crescenta Valley product Nayiri Kechichian, also a sophomore, led Valley with six goals against Santa Ana and added three steals. Against Miramar, she had four goals and three assists.

Starting sophomore goalie Mariquita Lopez Engelman of Glendale High has 20 saves over two games to go with two steals and two assists.

Freshman Biyouregh Boghozian (Glendale High) has six goals, three assists and two steals, sophomore Jacqueline Jones (Glendale) has a pair of goals, four assists and five steals, freshman Breanna Lawton, less than a year removed from an All-Area season in helping CV win a CIF title, has a goal, a team-high six assists and four steals, while CV sophomore Jennifer Wagner also has a goal.

Valley takes part in a tournament at El Camino on Friday.

Ryan McAleenan (St. Francis High, 2012) College of the Canyons football freshman: Having transferred from San Jose State, the former All-Area and All-Mission League linebacker has made an immediate impact with the Cougars.

On the road Saturday night, COC upset Saddleback, then the fourth-ranked team in the state, 31-28.

McAleenan turned in nine tackles on the night and broke up three passes to cap a stellar game.

For the season, he has 14 tackles for the Cougars (1-1), who will host Desert on Saturday.